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Half-Dozen Ballot Campaigns Confident About Moving Forward

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

At least a half-dozen initiative petition campaigns working towards the November 2024 ballot say they have collected at least enough signatures to meet an end-of-the-day Wednesday deadline and to put their policy ideas in front of the Legislature this spring.Campaigns angling to do away with the MCAS test as a graduation requirement, address the rights and benefits for drivers on app-based platforms (one offered by an industry-backed coalition and one by a union-backed group), give the state auditor explicit authority to audit the state Legislature, gradually bring the minimum wage for tipped workers into line with the general minimum wage, and legalize psychedelics for therapy have said they gathered more than the 74,574 signatures required to be filed with local election officials by the end of the day Wednesday.They reflect some of the heady questions that could shape the future of Massachusetts — What is work and what should workers be entitled to? How should the...

Lottery winner sues mother of his child, saying she told his relatives about his prize money

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

LEBANON, Maine (AP) — A man who won one of the largest lottery payments in U.S. history has filed a federal lawsuit against the mother of his child in an attempt to keep his identity concealed.The man won a $1.35 million Mega Millions jackpot earlier this year after purchasing a lottery ticket at a gas station in Lebanon, Maine. He has sued his child’s mother in U.S. District Court in Portland with a complaint that she violated a nondisclosure agreement by “directly or indirectly disclosing protected subject matter” about his winnings, court papers state.The court papers state that the defendant in the case disclosed the information to the winner’s father and stepmother. Both the winner and the defendant in the case are identified only by pseudonyms.Court filings state that the winner lives in Maine and the defendant lives in Massachusetts. The defendant has until Dec. 6 to respond to the lawsuit.Records did not list an attorney for the defendant in the case. The winner&...

Frugal millionaire leaves fortune to NH town

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

HINSDALE, N.H. — Geoffrey Holt was unassuming as the caretaker of a mobile home park in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, where he lived a simple, but curious life.Residents would see Holt around town in threadbare clothes — riding his lawn mower, headed to the convenience store, parked along the main road reading a newspaper or watching cars pass.He did odd jobs for others, but rarely left town. Despite having taught driver’s ed to high schoolers, Holt had given up driving a car. He opted for a bicycle instead and finally the mower. His mobile home in the park was mostly empty of furniture — no TV and no computer, either. The legs of the bed went through the floor.“He seemed to have what he wanted, but he didn’t want much,” said Edwin “Smokey” Smith, Holt’s best friend and former employer.But Holt died earlier this year with a secret: He was a multimillionaire. And what’s more, he gave it all away to this community of 4,200 people.His wi...

Tea Time: Boston prepares for 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

Tea bags are coming in from all over the U.S. for a semiquincentennial bash in  Boston.Dec. 16 marks the Boston Tea Party’s 250th Anniversary, with reenactments, retrospectives, and, of course, the dumping of British tea into the Boston Harbor.Spearheading these efforts is Revolution 250, a consortium of more than 70 Massachusetts organizations working to make all of the day’s events.The Old South Meeting House, Downtown Crossing, Harborwalk and Faneuil Hall will be flooded with Bostonians and those visiting to commemorate the occasion, according to Revolution 250 Executive Director Jonathan Lane.Lane told the Herald that the reenactments and celebrating a pivotal point of our nation’s history should not solely be focused on Boston, with other communities within the state playing a vital role in gaining independence.“When we talk about the revolution, we want to talk about not just about the Boston Tea Party, and Lexington and Concord, we want to talk about the people of Great Barri...

Border crossing closed after vehicle explosion on bridge connecting New York and Canada

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

By The Associated PressNIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — A border crossing between the U.S. and Canada has been closed after a vehicle exploded at a checkpoint on a bridge near Niagara Falls.The FBI’s field office in Buffalo said in a statement that it was investigating the explosion on the Rainbow Bridge, which connects the two countries across the Niagara River.Photos and video taken by news organizations and posted on social media showed a security booth that had been singed by flames. Further information wasn’t immediately available.Gov. Kathy Hochul said she had been briefed on the incident and was “closely monitoring the situation.”The Rainbow Bridge is one of four border crossings connecting Ontario to western New York.The others are Lewiston, Whirlpool and Peace Bridge. The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission reports all four crossings are closed.

US mortgage rates slide sharply, reinvigorating housing demand

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

Reade Pickert | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsU.S. mortgage rates dropped sharply, capping the biggest four-week slide in nearly a year and spurring a fresh round of applications to purchase homes.The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage tumbled 20 basis points to 7.41% last week, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed Wednesday. The index of home-purchase applications increased 3.9% in the week ended Nov. 17, the most since June.Since reaching a 23-year high of nearly 8% in mid-October, mortgage rates have plunged nearly half a percentage point. The effective rate, which includes fees and compound interest, dropped to still-elevated 7.59%. In contrast, the five-year adjustable rate increased.Mortgage rates tend to move in tandem with Treasury yields. The 10-year Treasury yield has fallen steeply this month after hitting a 16-year high in October, helped by signs the economy is cooling along with inflation.The overall index of applications, which includes purchases and refinan...

Patriots missing 1 wide receiver at Wednesday practice before Giants game

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots worked with a mostly full roster at Wednesday’s practice, missing only practice-squad wideout T.J. Luther.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Mac Jones’ plan is to be Patriots’ starting quarterback vs. Giants New England Patriots | Callahan: The Patriots can beat the Giants without a quarterback Sunday New England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Trent Brown, J.C. Jackson explain recent absences New England Patriots | Patriots QB Will Grier shares mentality if he gets called on to play New England Patriots | Mac Jones gets good news at first Patriots practice after bye week Mac Jones again took the first reps at quarterbacks during initial drills, when Conor McDermott played left tackle. McDermott, a veteran on the practice squad, has started the team’s last two games in place of Trent Brown, who told reporters he is dealing with a high ankle sprain, low ankle...

Is the US headed for a recession? Look at what richer Americans do on Black Friday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

Leslie Patton, Laura Bejder Jensen | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsRicher Americans are curtailing their spending ahead of Black Friday, a worrisome sign for an economy that has so far depended on the US consumer to stave off a recession.In the three months ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season, a group of retailers that cater to the upper middle class — including Apple, Coach and Nordstrom — saw its biggest sales drop in two years, according to an exclusive analysis of Bloomberg Second Measure data. The malaise also hit top-performing malls in wealthier areas, even as overall retail-sales figures march higher.Despite record interest rates and soaring inflation, the upper middle class “had been driving a lot of the stronger-than-expected spending,” says Kayla Bruun, a senior economist for Morning Consult, a survey research firm. Now, people with at least $100,000 in household income are starting to become more frugal, she says.On Tuesday, Best Buy Co. and Lowe’s Cos. cut their fo...

‘Near misses’ add urgency to FAA reauthorization efforts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

By Valerie Yurk, CQ-Roll CallA federal report detailing safety concerns with the nation’s air traffic control system is turning up the heat on lawmakers to pass the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, with a short window after the Thanksgiving recess to get it done or temporarily extend the agency’s authority.An independent review commissioned by the FAA in response to a number of near-miss incidents found the system is understaffed, old and inadequately funded, causing an “erosion in the margin of safety.”“Together, these challenges contribute to increased safety risk and should be regarded as incident precursors,” the panel concluded. “[T]he FAA continues to be asked to do more with less in an already strained system, and the series of serious incidents in early 2023 illuminate significant challenges to the provision and safety oversight of air traffic services.”FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said Monday he is taking actions to implement the report’s recommendat...

Quebec court orders pause to ratification of McGill student union pro-Palestine vote

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec Superior Court has issued an order temporarily blocking a McGill University student society from moving forward with a pro-Palestine policy approved in a recent referendum.The order states that the Students’ Society of McGill University has agreed not to ratify or implement its Policy Against Genocide in Palestine until the case returns to court in March.McGill students voted this month 78.7 per cent in favour of the policy, which calls for the school’s administration to condemn what it calls a “genocidal bombing campaign” against Gaza and to cut ties with corporations or institutions that are complicit in “settler-colonialism” or “apartheid.”An unnamed Jewish student from McGill went to court to challenge the policy, which she describes in court documents as “hate literature” that violates the student society’s own constitution as well as its antisemitism and equity policies.The student is also seek...